


Moving In

by Rakshi



Series: You'll Be In My Heart [4]
Category: Lord of the Rings RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-07
Updated: 2011-12-07
Packaged: 2017-10-27 01:20:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/290013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rakshi/pseuds/Rakshi





	Moving In

_You're the reason I believe in love  
And you're the answer to my prayers from up above  
All we need is just the two of us  
My dreams came true because of you_

 _From this moment as long as I live  
I will love you, I promise you this  
From this moment  
I will love you as long as I live  
From this moment on_

 _Shania Twain - From This Moment On_

  
Elijah tripped over a box for the fifteenth time. It was HARD to pace in a room filled with packed boxes, but Elijah was nothing if not determined. They were taking a break from loading the truck, but one would never think it was a break due to his state of perpetual motion. But he didn't feel he had much choice. It was either pace, or drive Sean insane with endless questions, most of which started with the word ‘when’.

When will he get here? When are they delivering our stuff? When does the bed arrive? When is Dom going to show up? All relevant questions the first time he asked them. By the time Sean had heard them twenty times his patience was wearing a little thin.

Sean sat on a box watching him, a fascinated look on his face. Elijah was burning up the carpet with his shoes and Sean didn’t know whether to stop him or just let him go. He decided on the latter. Elijah was a force akin to the four winds. Uninhibited and furious. Sweeping Sean along on a tide that took him where he’d never been before. Caressing and mild. Holding Sean with warm currents, keeping him close to where he always wanted to stay. Blowing Sean away. Trying to contain him was a mistake, Sean decided.

When the sound of hard knuckles hitting their door finally came Elijah wheeled and stared at Sean, eyes wide, mouth open, stunned. It was Sean who rose and walked to the door, opening it to admit their real estate agent.

“Hi, Ravel.” Sean said with a grin.

“Hey, Sean. Elijah.” Ravel smiled at Sean and held something up to him. “Here you go.” Sean said nothing. He nodded in Elijah’s direction and stood back to watch.

Ravel walked to Elijah and held out the keys. Elijah stared at him. “Here’s the keys, Elijah. You two are all set.”

Elijah continued to stare at Ravel. Then his eyes swung to Sean who was leaning against the open door smiling at him. Elijah slowly held out his hand and Ravel placed the keys into them. “There are two sets there.” Ravel told him, turning back toward the door. He shook hands with Sean after promising to call them later, and left.

Sean walked toward Elijah who was still staring down at the keys. Stopping just in front of him, Sean reached out to caress his cheek. “You ready to go, Doodle?” he said softly. He knew what this moment meant to Elijah and wanted to absorb every reaction. His stunned expression. His hesitancy. His shaking breath and shining eyes.

Elijah looked back up at Sean and bit his lip. “Oh god, Sean.” He said softly, looking back down at the keys. Sean felt his chest bursting with love. Felt his eyes growing full with it. Now he was the breeze. Soft and flowing. Gliding over the moment to mark it with his touch. 

Sean touched his face, lifting it up so he could claim it. Elijah wandered into his kiss like someone recently awakened, but in an instant his lips under Sean’s were open and hungry. Sean heard keys clinking next to his ear and laughed into Elijah’s mouth with pure joy.

“Go now.” Elijah murmured against Sean’s ear. “Oh, Seanie, go home now.”

Sean’s breath caught in his throat. “Home” he thought. “Go home.” He looked down at Elijah who gazed steadily back. Both of them were shiny eyed and breathless. “One more minute,” Sean thought, “and we’ll both be crying.”

He leaned back from their embrace. “Well, don’t just stand there.” he growled, nudging Elijah toward the door. “Grab a box! We have a lot of loading to do.”

Elijah stood, unmoving, for another moment, then suddenly seemed to wake up. He pocketed the keys and heaved a box onto the dolly sitting beside the door.

“Where the hell is Dom?” Elijah groused. “And please tell me one more time why we didn’t HIRE someone to do this?”

Sean laughed at him over the top of a box he was carrying. “Because this move is important enough to us that we want to do it ourselves?”

Elijah stopped dead in his tracks and gawked at him from the doorway. “And I bought into that?” he said in disbelief.

“Seemingly so.” Sean said, nudging him with the box. “Outta my way, wanker! I have things to do here. I want to carry this one on by hand. You wanna stand around? We’ll end up living here forever!”

Elijah followed him out to the truck they’d rented and pushed his loaded dolly up the ramp. They both took the boxes from it and sat them down. They walked back down the ramp and had turned to go into the house when Elijah grabbed Sean's arm and turned him around.

“Yes?” Sean said, grinning at him. “You want something?”

Elijah leaned forward and pressed his face against Sean’s neck. He didn’t raise his arms to hold him. Just leaned against him gently. Sean wrapped his arms around Elijah and pulled him close. “I want to say something.” Elijah said in a low voice. “Something about how I feel.” He leaned back and looked at Sean. “But I can’t! I keep trying. But I can’t.”

He shook his head and then bowed it, leaning it against Sean’s shoulder. “What’s wrong with me? Happiest day of my life and I’ve gone mute.”

“Well, hardly mute.” Sean murmured, thinking of the constant stream of Lijah-talk he’d been listening to since early morning. He smiled and rubbed Elijah’s back.

“What are you two up to?” A voice from behind them asked. Elijah’s mom walked around the truck toward them. Sean tried to ease back from their embrace, but Elijah grabbed Sean’s shirt and pulled him close.

“We got the keys, mom!” Elijah spouted happily, holding them up for her to see. He turned slightly sideways so that Sean’s arm was still around his shoulders and wound his arm around Sean’s waist. “And I just can’t think of words to tell him how I feel.” 

Debbie laughed. “Excited?” she suggested. “Overwrought? Ecstatic? Scared? All of the above?”

She moved forward and hugged Elijah, leaning up to kiss Sean on the cheek. “You’re starting a new life today. Not many days like that in a lifetime. I hope you both remember it and enjoy it.”

All three of them hugged for a moment. Finally Elijah raised his head and looked from one of them to the other. “This,” he said sadly, “is fucking disgusting.” Debbie laughed, and reached up to lightly pat his mouth. “Language!” Elijah ignored her. “We all need to take a pill or something.”

OK,” she said pulling back and looking at them. “What’s the agenda?” 

“Load the truck.” Sean said. “Drive it to Malibu. Unload it. And, you’re right!” He said looking at Elijah, “Where the hell is Dom?”

“And Orli!” Elijah said. “He was supposed to help too!”

“To hell with it.” Sean told him, as he pushed his dolly back into the overflowing living room. “We’re going to keep loading boxes and when the truck is full, we’re outta here. They’re delivering our bed at 1 and the rest of the furniture comes later this afternoon. We have to be there.”

He turned and looked at Debbie. “Well, *someone* has to be there. If the guys don’t show up maybe we’ll get you to stay in Malibu and watch for our stuff while we get another load.”

She nodded. “Fine by me. Hanna will be here to help in an hour or so. Let’s get the truck loaded.” She said, gesturing at the boxes laying everywhere.

Elijah grinned at Sean. “Seems we’ve acquired a supervisor.”

They had only pushed one more dolly load to the truck when a car wheeled into the driveway and expelled Dom and Orlando. Shortly after than, Elijah's sister arrived. With all of them hauling boxes it didn’t take long before their belongings were all packed. Sean gaped at the truck that wasn’t even half full. “It sure holds a lot more than I thought it would.”

Hanna kissed both of them and raced back to the main house. She was meeting friends later and wanted to get ready.

He and Elijah wandered through the house making sure they’d gotten everything. Sean was eyeing Elijah for signs of sadness. After all, he was moving away from a pretty secure environment. Not just leaving a home, he was leaving family too.

But Elijah’s face had been a study in joy all day long. He constantly fingered the keys in his pocket and as they were loading the truck he had stopped what he was doing every five minutes to pet or hug Sean, a habit that had something of an adverse affect on his fellow movers. “Hey!” Dom fake-yelled at him at one point. “Your bed’s being delivered at one. Can you leave him ALONE long enough for us to get you there? Then you two can shag your asses off for all we care.”

Sean had nudged Dom hard with his elbow and pointed at Elijah’s mother.

“Oh shit! Debbie!” He’d said in his normal, quietly cultured voice. “I’m sorry.” Dom had looked so appalled at what he'd said that everyone in the room burst into laughter, including Debbie.

"Time to go." Sean said, glancing at his watch. Since they had so much help, Debbie was remaining to straighten out the guest house that Elijah was vacating. Sean quietly watched Elijah and his mother as they said goodbye. If there were going to be tears it would be now. But his face never flickered. As Elijah leaned over his mother, he positively glowed with happiness.

She hugged him tight. "Give me a call once you're settled." Then she turned to Sean, who also hugged her. "I won't tell you to take good car of him," Debbie whispered in his ear. "because I already know you will."

Sean nodded. "You can count on it."

Then he and Elijah were piling into the truck while Dom and Orli jumped into their car. Debbie waved to them until they pulled out onto the highway. Then she turned and walked into the empty house.

Sean turned to Elijah as they made the turn out onto the highway. "You ok, baby?" he asked softly. Elijah was turned, looking out the window. He glanced over at Sean and his face was still alight with gladness.

"God, Sean." He said, leaning over to press his face against Sean's arm. "I feel bad about how little sadness I feel to leave there!"

"I think your mom feels OK about this, don't you?" Sean asked him.

"Oh yeah." Elijah said, shrugging. "She's a pretty smart lady. She loves you. And she knows I couldn't be stopped anyway."

"No?" Sean said, smiling at him. "Sure you don't want to back out? We could just haul all this stuff back and . . . "

"SEAN!" Elijah yipped in mock horror!

When they arrived at the Malibu house, everyone piled out and began yanking dollies out of the truck. Elijah pulled the keys out of his pocket and offered them to Sean who shook his head and gestured toward the door.

Elijah looked at him for a moment while Dom and Orlando clambered into the truck. He was leaning on a dolly, chin resting on his arm smiling sweetly at Elijah. He was dressed in jeans and an old torn sweatshirt. "That's him." Elijah thought. "That's the man I'm going to spend the rest of my life with." He felt his breath rush out of his body and he threw his arms around Sean.

"I love you." He whispered against his ear. "I love you so much. That's what I wanted to say before, but couldn't."

"Why not?" Sean asked him.

"I don't know." Elijah muttered. "I think because I mean it too damn much. Especially today." For a long moment they simply stood perfectly still, looking into each other’s eyes. Then Sean smiled. "Unlock the door, Elwood." He said, nudging him toward the door. "We have a lot of unpacking to do."

Elijah walked put the key in the lock, he looked up at Sean as he turned the key while Dom and Orlando cheered and Sean winked at him. Then they walked in.

Elijah stood in the doorway staring. It was as beautiful as he remembered it. He’d been here a couple times since he and Sean decided to take this house. As recently as yesterday Ravel had met him here, unlocking the door so that some of their furniture could be delivered. But these had been brief visits. He didn't even have a set of keys then. Now it was theirs. Not his. Not Sean’s. Theirs. Together. He stared at the living room, awestruck. Then looked past it to the ocean. Suddenly something nudged him from behind. Sean.

“Hey!” Sean said. “You want to move it along, Ringbearer? A few of us have boxes to bring in here.” Elijah spun around and saw Sean standing behind him pushing a dolly filled with boxes. Dom and Orlando were right behind him, with their dollies filled too! He quickly moved out of Sean’s way.

“Gosh! Sorry, baby.”

Dom wheeled past him, dolly loaded down with bulging cardboard. “Uh, you MIGHT want to consider grabbing a few boxes, ELIJAH!” he grumbled. Elijah grinned at him. “But you’re doing so WELL without me!” he teased! 

“Jeez, Lij.” Orlando commented as he walked past with his dolly. “This is beautiful.”

“Lij!” Sean called from upstairs. Elijah dashed up to their bedroom where Sean was unloading his dolly. “Why don’t you start unpacking this stuff and hanging it in the closet.” He looked at his watch. “The bedroom stuff should be here in an hour or so, then we can put the rest away.” He looked up at Elijah. “You know. In the dresser drawers and all.”

Elijah put his arms around Sean’s neck and held him tight. “I can’t believe it.” He whispered against Sean’s neck. “I can’t believe it even yet.” Sean sighed and pulled him tight against his body for only the briefest moment. Then he pushed him back. “Unpack, baby. We’ll talk about all that later. If I start snuggling you now.. we’ll NEVER get moved in.”

Elijah grinned at him and started tearing open boxes. “Gotcha.” He said with a wink.

Sean returned the wink and wheeled with his dolly, heading back down the stairs. Moving through the living room, he caressed the beauty of the wooden walls and the shimmering ocean beyond their deck with his eyes. He knew how Elijah felt. It was amazing to Sean too that this place was theirs. That a life together was truly beginning today. It was hard not to simply stop, and stare in wonder, almost in awe. He never would have believed it either.

Sean walked outside and followed Dom and Orli up the ramp into the truck. “Where’s the brat?” Dom asked as he loaded his dolly, causing Sean to laugh out loud. “He’s ok. He’s unloading the bedroom boxes. We need to start that because the furniture’s coming soon.”

“God, Sean.” Orlando said, lifting a box to the top of his stack of two that were already on the dolly. “I love the living room! Your furniture is gorgeous!”

Sean smiled. He and Elijah had picked out overstuffed leather furniture for the living room A deep brown leather that beautifully accented the golden teak-wood walls. They added a few teak-wood tables and an enormous painting of a hilly, river-crossed landscape for over the fireplace. 

They both loved the painting. They stood together and stared at it for a long time, then turned to each other and said almost at the same time: “Hobbiton.” It looked very much like their hometown in the Shire and they both adored it. It’s earthy tones fit perfectly with the rest of the living room.

Sean and Elijah had a huge TV set in their bedroom, but wanted no television in the living room. That room was for watching the fire crackling in the fireplace, snuggling on their TOO comfortable couch, reading, talking. Just being together.

“Yeah.” Sean said, throwing more boxes onto his dolly. “They delivered all that stuff yesterday. The kitchen stuff too. Now all we need is the bedroom stuff. Can’t stay here without a bed.”

Dom and Orlando both laughed. “Sure you can, Sean.” Dom commented, grinning at him. “The way Lij is acting today, it’s unlikely you’ll get any sleep anyway!”

Sean sighed and blushed, which only caused Dom and Orli to laugh harder. “Aww,” Sean said. “he’s just excited. This is like. . . like . . .”

“Your honeymoon?” Orlando asked quietly.

Sean looked at him. “Well, sort of.” He said quietly. “He’s been through a lot with me. A lot of hurt and sadness. I want him to enjoy this. It’s his dream come true.”

Dom leaned on his dolly. “How does it feel to be someone’s dream come true?”

“Scary.” Sean said, adding one last box. “Frankly, all of this scares me half to death.”

“He’s so young.” Dom said softly. “That part would scare ME.”

Sean laughed out loud. “Let me TELL you something, Dommie.” Sean tossed over his shoulder as he wheeled his dolly down the ramp. “That is one conversation I NEVER intend to have with him again!”

“Why not?” Dom asked from right behind him.

“Because,” Sean said, still laughing. “the last time we had that conversation, he ate my lunch, my 11sies, my first and second breakfast, and my entire dinner. And THEN," Sean said, turning around to walk backwards with his dolly, "he kicked my weenie ass!"

"Must have been some conversation!" Dom said, laughing.

"Yeah." Sean said dryly, pushing his dolly through the door. "It was."

Dom and Orli looked at each other in amazement. Elijah's attitude toward Sean was usually one of complete adoration. Oh he teased Sean. They teased each other half to death. And engaged in a lot of rowdy rough housing at times. But to think of him doing what Sean had just described was simply beyond belief.

They spent the next few hours doing what every person who has ever moved dreads most. They unpacked and put things away. Dom and Orli took on the kitchen and did an admirable job of sorting through Sean and Elijah's hodge podge of plates, glassware and cookware. 

Since they cooked only rarely, they had never really bothered to stock their kitchen. Sean peeked his head in and scowled. Now that they had their own place he intended to learn how to cook healthier food for he and Elijah, and for the kids when they were here. No more pizzas and subs.

"How's it going, Sean?" Orlando asked, shoving glasses onto a cupboard shelf.

"Not bad. The bedroom furniture is here and the delivery guys are putting the bed together while Elijah bounces around like a rubber ball. It's quite fun up there." They all laughed and Sean shook his head.

"I honestly don't think I've ever seen him so happy." Orlando said quietly. "It's a nice thing to see, Sean. He looked UNHAPPY for so long." Orli shook his head. "It made me quite sad at times."

"Yeah." Sean said quietly. "Me too."

Dom reached out and patted his shoulder. "He's OK now, Sean. He's a lucky guy."

"Well," Sean said in a dismissive manner. "I don't know about THAT. I tried to tell him again and again that I come with a lot of baggage. But," He said shaking his head and smiling. "he doesn't appear to give a damn."

The kitchen door flew open and Elijah literally bounded into the room. "Come see!" He yelped, grabbing Sean by the arm and pulling on him. "All of you! Come SEE!"

The followed him up the stairs and into the master bedroom. The delivery men had gone and Elijah had made the bed. The room looked gorgeous. They had bought a king sized, 4 poster bed made of darkest oak with dresser, chest of drawers, and tables to match. The light from their skylight threw late afternoon shadows over the wood giving it a glorious sheen. The walls were a quiet cream color with subtle hints of mossy green in a boarder that wound around the top. The room looked lovely, rich, calm, and altogether comfortable. 

"Look, Sean." Elijah breathed. "Look at it."

He turned to look at Sean who was leaning on the door frame. "This is our room." He said quietly as if saying the words was the only way he could make himself believe it. Dom smiled at him and ruffled his hair as he walked out and headed back downstairs with Orli.

Sean nodded at him. "Yes." He murmured. "It is." He looked around the room and sighed happily. Then he turned back to Elijah, who was staring at him, biting his lip, his heart in his eyes. Sean opened his arms. "C 'mere, you." He whispered, his voice breaking. Elijah sleepwalked to him and was quickly enveloped. 

They clung to each other for a long time. Sean was close to crying and he could tell from Elijah's trembling body and shaky breath that he was nearly in tears too. He quickly tried to lighten the mood. "You did a great job up here!" He said, hugging Elijah. "Aren't you getting hungry? Let's stop awhile and order some pizza! OK? I bet the guys are starved." 

He took Elijah's hand and led him downstairs to the kitchen. They ordered pizza and while they waited for it to arrive they helped Dom and Orlando finish putting the kitchen stuff away.

Dom went back to the truck to see what was left to do while Orlando took a walk down to the water to stand by the ocean for a minute. When Dom came back inside he brought good news. "Well, guys. You are now officially moved in. There is nothing left to do. Everything's here. Everything's put away."

Elijah and Sean stared at him. "Wow." Elijah finally murmured. "That didn't take as long as I thought it would." Dom grinned at them and Sean just smiled and glanced at his watch.

"Pizza here in 20 minutes." He said quietly.

"Well, as soon as we're done eating, Orli and I are out of here." Dom said quietly. "We're going to go shoot some pool and scare up a party or two."

"We sure appreciate all your help." Sean told him.

Elijah nodded. "You guys have been great." He smiled at Dom and shot a sideways glance at Sean. He felt a finger of nervousness creep into his stomach. Dom and Orli were leaving soon. He'd be alone here with Sean.

Sean glanced over at him and furrowed his brows. "What's wrong, Lij?"

"Nothing." Elijah said. "Why?"

Sean shrugged slowly. "I don't know, babe. You were staring at me with this sort of scared look on your face." He walked over to Elijah and put his arm around him. "You OK?"

Elijah leaned against his chest. "I feel . . . nervous." He said quietly.

Dom grinned at him. "Like a bride on her wedding night." Elijah glared at him and Sean gave Dom an exasperated look. "OK, Dommie. That's enough." He pulled Elijah to him and rocked him a couple times. "Relax." He whispered in Elijah's ear. "Once we're alone, we'll talk about all of it."

Dom nudged Sean's arm. "Hey! Did you guys ever talk to Peter? Not to mention your dad and Mac?" he questioned. 

Sean nodded. "Peter was fine with it. But he practically begged on his knees that we both be VERY discrete for awhile. He said the same thing Ian did about coming to things in separate cars. And . . ." he stopped and looked at Elijah who made a disgusted face and shook his head, clearly angry. ". . . he also said that it would be a good idea if I showed up with Chris now and then, if I can talk her into it, and that Lij show up with a date."

Dom laughed. "And Elijah just jumped for JOY at that request, didn't he?"

Sean rolled his eyes, and Dom laughed even harder. Elijah glared at him, but Dom didn't even slow down. "Lij, I'm sorry, but it just makes good sense. It's not like you have to go home with them or anything. And it would serve to keep talk to a minimum." He turned to Sean, ignoring Elijah's pouty look. "Would Chris DO it?"

Sean shrugged. "She might. She understands about that kind of thing, and it's to her advantage to help me out career wise. Only puts more money in her pocket. But . . . " Sean said, eyeing Elijah with a small smile. ". . . I probably wouldn't do it even if she DID agree."

Elijah hopped up onto one of the stools at their breakfast bar and worried a finger nail with his teeth. Dom couldn't resist teasing him. "How 'bout YOU, ring boy? You gonna get yourself a beard to take to premiers and such?" 

Elijah wheeled and glared at him. "NO! I am NOT!" he half yelled. "I won't GO to any fucking premiers if that's how it has to be and that's what I told Peter! They can all go fuck themselves!" Dom giggled and Sean, wisely, smothered a grin.

"And . . ." Elijah said, still fuming. " . . . neither is HE!" he said pointing at Sean. Neither Dom nor Sean could contain themselves any longer and they both burst into laughter. Elijah glared at both of them, realizing that they'd been teasing him and Sean walked over to embrace him roughly.

"Come ON, now!" he said ruffling Elijah's hair. "You know I'd never agree to something like that."

Orli wandered back in, an awestruck look on his face. "Your beach is wonderful, you guys." He said in a soft voice. "I could have sat there all night."

"Come back anytime, Orli." Sean said with a smile. "When the kids aren't here, those bedrooms upstairs are empty. Orlando smiled at him.

"Thanks Sean. I might do that sometime." He looked at Elijah who still had a scowl on his face. "What's up with the ring boy?" he asked Sean.

Sean laughed and hugged Elijah tight. "He's just pouting because Dom and I teased him." He released Elijah and turned back to Dom. "And to answer the second part of your question, Dommie, my dad and Mac are fine with it. They both like Elijah and have no problem with what we're doing."

"I like Mac." Elijah said softly. "Your dad too."

Doorbell rang and Sean went to pay for the pizza while Elijah pulled out paper plates and beer. Dom and Orli took beers eagerly. Elijah held one out to Sean, eyebrows raised questioningly, when Sean walked back into the kitchen with pizza boxes in his hands. He shook his head 'No' and asked for pop instead. Elijah thought about it, and slid his own beer back into the fridge, substituting a Pepsi. This was not lost on Dom.

"You two quit drinking beer?" He asked Sean.

"Well, you know I haven't because you saw me drink one at lunch." Sean answered. 

Elijah said nothing, but he looked at Sean and smiled, raising his own Pepsi in salute. Sean winked at him and chomped on his pizza. Dom noticed the exchange but for once decided not to tease. Clearly the two of them wanted to be completely sober during their upcoming evening together. He couldn't resist one little quip though. "What do you two have planned for tonight? Anything special?"

Sean laughed out loud and Elijah first blushed, then grinned at Sean before turning to Dom. "None of YOUR fucking business, asshole!" he said, flipping Dom the bird.

Orli just smiled. "I saw champagne getting cold in the fridge." He observed. "Good champagne too!"

"You two don’t think this night deserves champagne?" Sean asked them, smiling. 

Dom and Orli both laughed. "Yes." Orlando said quietly, leaning over to pat Sean's arm. "I do think it deserves champagne.

The four of them sat round the kitchen for a long time, eating their pizza and talking. It occurred to Sean that this was their very first party in their own home, but decided not to share the thought. He was glad that part of this first day together here included being with these good friends who he and Elijah both loved.

Finally Orli spoke: " I think Dom and I need to get the hell out of here so your first night in your new home can begin."

Dom stood up in agreement. He hugged Elijah and then turned to Sean and hugged him too. "Have a perfect night, buddy." He whispered in Sean's ear.

"I'll do my very best." Sean said with a smile.

Orli hugged them both too and then all four of them walked to the door and said goodbye. Dom gave Elijah's hair one last ruffle and then he and Orlando walked to his car. Looking back, Dom saw Elijah wave at them, and then turn to smile at Sean who's arm was around his shoulders. Then they both turned and went back into their house.

Dom turned to Orli. "God, I really hope they make it. I don't know of two people who deserve happiness more than those two." Orli nodded in agreement. Then they got in their car and drove off.

Inside the house, Sean and Elijah were cleaning up the kitchen. "We may leave it a mess a million times." Sean said with a grin. "But TONIGHT, at least, I'd like it to be clean when we go to bed." 

Elijah smiled at him, and together they gathered up the empty bottles and pizza boxes, and cleaned up the rest of the kitchen. That done, they wandered, together into the living room. Elijah moved toward the deck while Sean checked the CD player.

The sun was setting, and the view over their deck was magnificent. Elijah was awestruck by the varied hues of orange, red, gold and even purple that flowed out over the water and sky from the lowering sun. Shadows from the sunset touched every corner of the room, darkening it, and yet giving it a deep glow that was almost more luminous than light.

Sean came up behind Elijah and put his arms around him. They both gazed in silence for a long time. Then Sean turned Elijah around to face him. "Hey." He said, taking Elijah's face gently into his hands and pulling him forward into a very soft kiss. "Welcome home, baby." He whispered against Elijah's mouth.

Elijah gasped, and threw his arms around Sean's waist, pulling him close. "Oh Seanie." He said, shaking his head. "I still don't believe this place is really ours." 

Sean smiled. "Well, it is. And now," he said, guiding Elijah over to the couch. "I want you to sit down here. I don't think you've even sat on our couch yet! I want you to sit here for a second while I get something."

"You're right!" Elijah said sitting down. "I only sat on it in the showroom." He snuggled into the cushy leather couch. "Oh, Sean! It feels so GOOD!" He turned to look for Sean but didn't see him. "Where are you?"

"Right here!" Sean said, walking back into the living room carrying a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket and two chilled glasses. "Seems to me," he said, sitting everything down on the table in front of Elijah, "that I tried to do this not all that long ago and damned near poisoned us!"

Elijah laughed. "Yep. You did. When I got home from New York." He laughed again remembering the horrible, cheap champagne. "It was sweet of you though. And, as I remember, it certainly didn’t spoil the evening." Elijah grinned and winked at him.

"No." Sean said, remembering. "It was still a wonderful homecoming as I recall."

Elijah watched Sean pour champagne for each of them, then accepted the glass that Sean handed him. They looked at each other, both of them feeling as though they needed to make some kind of toast, but neither of them knowing what to say.

Finally Sean shook his head "I can't do it." Elijah laughed softly. "I can't either." He looked up at Sean and spoke in a soft, even voice. "There just aren't any words. We've been through too much. It's taken too long to get here. Words aren't any good."

They were silent for another moment, then Elijah turned and raised his glass to Sean. "I love you." He said nearly whispering. Sean lowered his head as if against a storm, obviously undone by Elijah's toast. Then he looked up and touched his glass softly against Elijah's. "I love you too." He murmured in a shaky voice. And they drank.

After they lowered their glasses they looked at each other and burst out laughing. "It's GOOD!" Elijah crowed, still laughing.

"Thank god." Sean said grinning at him.

They sat together quietly drinking their champagne while the room got darker and darker. Sean got up to turn on a small lamp and when he sat back down he dropped his arm around Elijah's shoulders. Elijah half-turned on the couch to snuggle against him. 

Sean lifted the remote control and soft music flooded the room. "Enya". Sean loved her and Elijah had come to love her too hearing so much of her music when he was with Sean. The lyrics to her songs were very special to Sean. They spoke to his spirit in a way that no other music quite managed to do. "They touch my soul." He had told Elijah. They sat silently hearing the beautiful strains of "Only Time" flowing out into the room. 

"Seems to kind of fit us tonight." Sean said softly, pulling Elijah close to him. He felt Elijah nod and nestle closer, his hands grasping the front of Sean's shirt. They listened in silence, gently rocking together in time to the music.

"Who can say where the road goes . . .  
Where the day flows . . . only time  
And who can say if your love grows  
as your heart chose . . . only time"

"Only Time - Enya"

Elijah stirred and looked up at Sean. "Would you do something for me?" he asked a bit shyly.

"I suspect so, as long as it doesn't involve moving anything." Sean answered smiling.

"Would you start that song over?

"Sure!"

"And. . . " Elijah said grabbing his arm, "would you dance with me?"

Sean hesitated for a moment, feeling a bit self conscious. Then he looked at Elijah. 

"You don’t have to!" Elijah said at once. "I just saw you dance with. . . with Chris once. And. . . you looked so. . . so beautiful. So. . . good at it. So. . . strong and all. I was jealous of her. I wanted it to be me you were holding like that." He peeked up at Sean who was watching him closely and listening to every word he said. "It was a stupid thing to ask for wasn't it." Elijah said softly.

Sean leaned down and kissed him softly. Then he turned and hit the remote to restart the song. He stood up and held out his hand to Elijah, who took it. Sean pulled him to his feet, and led him to the open space behind their couch. He put Elijah's hand on his shoulder, took Elijah's other hand in his, and wrapped his right arm around Elijah tightly. "Now you have to move with me, duffus." He said, laughing softly. "This isn't like that crazy dancing you do when you're half in the bag"

Sean swayed gently in time with Enya's beautiful ballad. He didn't try any fancy footwork, just used a tiny area of the floor. Surprisingly, Elijah followed him easily, seeming to anticipate where Sean was moving next. Elijah molded his body against Sean's. He wasn't even thinking about his feet, just about how wonderful it felt to be in Sean's arms and swaying to such a beautiful song. He looked up at Sean, smiling. "This is easy."

"You're good at this!" Sean said, smiling back at him.

"Did it embarrass you?" Elijah asked him. "Me asking for this?"

Sean's arm tightened around him. "Dance more. Talk less." He murmured against Elijah's ear. He let go of Elijah's hand and wrapped his other arm around him, holding him tight. They clung to each other, barely moving, until the song finished. Then they looked into each other's eyes and Sean leaned down to kiss him, deeply and hard. Elijah returned the kiss with equal passion.

Sean pulled him back to the couch and handed him his champagne glass. "Here. Let's finish this." They snuggled against each other, sipping. Then Sean sat his glass down and turned to look into Elijah's eyes. "You feel happy about all this?"

"And what if I said 'no'?" Elijah asked, giggling.

"Guess I'd have to put you in the car and take you back to your mother." Sean told him. He leaned down and brushed his lips against Elijah's softly. "You ready to go upstairs?" he asked in a whisper.

"Yes." Elijah breathed. "But, Sean?"

"Yes."

"I'm. . . um. . ." Elijah ducked his head.

"Nervous?" Sean asked.

"Yes."

Sean laughed. "And after I went and got lessons from Sir Ian and everything!" Sean said with a wink. When Elijah looked puzzled, Sean laughed again and sat his champagne down. "The night of the fellowship party when you saw Ian and I talking? I was asking him about . . . uh . . . tonight. Just to be sure I knew enough not to stupidly hurt you."

Elijah reached up to touch his cheek. "You are so good to me." Sean shook his head and Elijah smiled at him. "I'm fine, Seanie. Just a little tense." He shrugged.

Sean leaned down and kissed him. "Let's just go to bed. We can talk about all of it up there. OK?" Truth was, he felt emotionally and physically exhausted. It had been a long and tiring day, and the intensity of knowing that today began a whole new life for he and Elijah was as exhausting as lugging boxes.

Elijah looked up at him and Sean smiled.

"I just need to relax, baby." He told Elijah softly. "I don't care if we don't make love. I don't care what we do. We can just watch TV if you like. I just want to snuggle with you in our own bed and try to convince myself that all of this is real."

Elijah laughed. "You TOO?" He pulled Sean to his feet and nudged him gently toward the stairs.

Elijah grabbed the Enya CD on the way up and as Sean was taking his shower, he put it on in their bedroom. He stripped off his clothes and wandered, naked, out to their bedroom deck. He felt a little self-conscious about it, but there were no houses close enough to them for anyone to see him, and the breeze from the ocean felt wonderful against his body.

He stood there just barely able to see the ocean in the evening darkness, but loving the sound of the waves, the smell of the ocean, and the feeling of the wind. He closed his eyes, opened his arms, and leaned his head back, giving himself to the elements surrounding him.

Suddenly he felt a pair of strong arms go around him from behind. "Hey, baby. You look like a young god standing there that way." Sean said against his hair. Elijah half-turned his head to smile up into Sean's face, reaching back to pull his naked body closer. 

"Hope there's no boaters out there with binoculars." Sean said with a grin.

"I don't care if there ARE." Elijah said, laughing. "This is OUR deck and we can be naked on it if we like!"

"That's RIGHT!" Sean said, shaking a fist at the invisible boaters. "So you guys just go ahead and look! And when you make five million dollars on Ebay from the pictures you took with your telephoto lenses, you can just split the profits with us!" 

Elijah was laughing hysterically at the sight of Sean, stark naked, standing on their deck waving his fist and yelling at invisible boaters about non existent Ebay photos. "You maniac!" he said, giggling insanely. "Get in here!" He pulled on Sean's arm until he got him back into the bedroom.

"You have to keep these boaters in line!" Sean said, letting himself be pulled over to the bed.

Elijah dove into their bed, and held out his arms for Sean, who climbed in right behind him. He immediately gathered Elijah into his arms and he buried his face against Sean's neck. Sean's hands moved softly over Elijah's back, gently trying to soothe out some of the soreness from their long day. He lifted Elijah's face up and kissed him softly. "Hey, sweetie." He said gently. "You want to just watch TV tonight?"

"NO!" Elijah said. "No way, Sean." He leaned back and looked into Sean's eyes. "Do you? I mean. . . don't you want to. . . I mean. Do you want to. . . " He shook his head exasperated with himself. "I DON'T KNOW HOW TO SAY IT!" he half yelled in frustration.

Sean laughed against his shoulder until he was nearly out of breath. "Having a problem, baby?" he giggled. Then they were both laughing.

When they finally stopped, Sean looked into Elijah's eyes. "And in answer to your question. . . yes, I do want to." He leaned down and kissed Elijah, mouth open, his tongue seeking out Elijah's tongue to stroke it gently, loving it when Elijah gasped and clenched his fingers in Sean's shoulders. "I want to more than you could imagine." Sean whispered in a shaky voice.

"But," Sean said, raising his head to look into Elijah's eyes again. "it doesn't have to happen tonight. If you're not ready, it can wait." His voice was soft and gentle, and the fingers that slowly caressed Elijah's body were equally soft and gentle. "We've never made love 'that' way before, and it's not as though we haven't been. . . uh. . . satisfied." He smiled at Elijah. "Right?"

Elijah smiled back at him. "I know." He said softly, his body beginning to undulate slowly under Sean's hands. "Oh, Seanie, you're the best lover in the world. Anytime we make love it's like going to heaven." Sean smiled at him and leaned down for a kiss. "But I do want to do this. I do want it." He clenched his fingers in Sean's hair and pulled his head down until he could breathe into Sean's ear. "I want you inside me." Elijah breathed hoarsely, hearing Sean inhale sharply in response. "I want to feel you come inside me." He moaned. "Seanie. Please. I do want it." He looked up into Sean's eyes, feeling the anguished tension between them growing more powerful, more irrevocable, by the moment. 

Sean's eyes transformed from hazel into a beautiful sea green and Elijah's breath grew more halting as Sean's gaze deepened, became more impassioned. He looked almost angry, but, gazing up at him, Elijah knew it wasn't anger. It was passion so deep it was akin to violence. The dark passion that Sean feared and kept so closely controlled. And yet, his eyes betrayed him when he stared down at Elijah. He made a moaning sound deep in his throat, then grasped Elijah's wrist and lifted it to his lips.

He opened his mouth almost as though he was going to bite him, but didn't. Instead he pressed his open mouth against Elijah's wrist, suckling on it gently, licking the pulse point, feeling a leap against his mouth as Elijah's heart raced. Sean's mouth moved up Elijah's arm, laving his skin, kissing, nibbling the firm flesh. 

Slowly his kisses moved up Elijah's arm, and across his shoulder. Soft, wet kisses slowly bathed the sensitive skin where Elijah's shoulder met his neck and he moaned, fingers digging into Sean's arms. He felt Sean's teeth graze his skin, then nibble harder. Sean's arms wrapped tightly around Elijah's upper body, fingers clenched in his hair. He nipped Elijah's neck again and gave an anguished moan and a shuddering inhale.

"Seanie?" Elijah whispered. "Baby?" Sean shook his head and lowered his mouth to Elijah's throat, torturing it with wet, soft kisses, interspersed with nibbling nips with his teeth. Every time Sean's teeth grazed Elijah's flesh, he moaned. Elijah knew what the moans meant, though he doubted that Sean realized he knew. The tortured moans were forced from Sean's throat as he held himself back from biting Elijah harder.

Sean whimpered against Elijah's throat, suckling on his skin softly, and then harder. Again Sean moaned, and his mouth bit harder on Elijah's throat, suckling him again, moaning his name. Elijah gasped nearly sobbing from the overwhelming sensations that roared through his body. But another part of him, deep inside, smiled. He'd be marked when this was over. Sean's mouth was claiming him tonight in a way it never had before. Tonight there was a stormy ardor in his kisses. A passion that didn't only love, but possessed as well. And that passion would leave it's mark on Elijah's skin.

He clenched his fingers in Sean's hair and pulled his head up, not entirely gently. He wanted Sean to see his eyes. To know how he felt at this moment.

Sean raised his head pulled out of his half crazed desire by Elijah's sharp tug on his hair. Felling guilty, he expecting to hear Elijah's voice asking him to ease up, to be more gentle. Instead he looked down into a pair of wild, bright blue eyes that flamed with a hunger every bit the equal of his own. Elijah smiled at him, clenching his fingers tighter in Sean's hair. An ecstatic smile lit his face. A smile filled with joy and with something else. Something untamed and blazing. Sean barely had time to gasp before Elijah pulled his lips into fiery kiss filled with yearning. Again and again they kissed, open mouths wet and hot against each other. Tongues laving each others faces, each other's lips, each other's tongues. Their hunger for each other seemed insatiable.

They both moaned, writhing against one another wildly. Elijah suddenly heard Sean sob and felt him start to pull away. Frightened, he grabbed him hard and clung to his body. "Sean!" Elijah cried. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"Shhh. Shhh." Sean whispered against his face. "Nothing's wrong, my love, my baby." His voice was shaking nearly uncontrollably and he still tried to pull out of Elijah's embrace.

"NO!" Elijah cried, clinging even tighter. "I won't let you go."

Sean lowered his head until his face was pressed against Elijah's. "Baby." He whimpered. "Baby, please."

Elijah grasped Sean's face in his hands and kissed him, first gently, and then harder. Sean's beautiful lips were wet and trembling with emotion and Elijah couldn't get enough of them. "Seanie." He moaned. "Please, baby. Now. Take me now."

Sean shook his head, clearly afraid, but Elijah wouldn't stop kissing him, pleading with him. . . "Sean. Please. Take me now. Now." 

Sean crushed their mouths together, moaning. "Lijah! Stop!"

"No." Elijah murmured against his lips. "Now, Seanie. Take me now. Do it now, Sean. Please. I want to feel you inside me now."

Sean moaned again, his teeth clenched together. "Oh. Elijah. God. Please."

"Sean. You would never hurt me. Never." Elijah took deep, shuddering breaths, his body on fire with hunger. "I want to feel you come in side me." He gasped. "Now Seanie. Now. Please." He arched and Sean writhed in torment against his body.

"Ohhh." Sean moaned. "Ohhh, god. Oh, god." Half insensible, he moved to enter Elijah's body, forgetting the lubrication. Elijah caught Sean's face in his hands. "Seanie. Baby. Where's the lube?"

Sean shook his head as if coming out of a dream and pointed to the bedside table. Elijah spotted it lying there. He grabbed it and turned back to Sean who held out his hand.

Elijah smiled. "No, my love." He whispered. "I want to do this."

He spread some of the smooth gel on his fingers and first applied some to himself. Then he pushed Sean back on the bed and leaned over him, quickly taking his straining erection deeply into his mouth, suckling him. "Elijah!" Sean cried. "Oh god, baby, stop. I'll come right here and now!" Elijah took his mouth away and gently laved Sean's cock with his fingers, covering it with lube. Then he threw himself on top of Sean, thrashing against his body as he turned them in bed until Sean was on top of him.

"Sean." Elijah half sobbed. "Sean. Sean."

Sean half growled deep in his throat, pressing his face against Elijah's neck, guiding himself to the opening of Elijah's body. He pushed gently forward, moving slowly, ignoring the urgings of his frenzied body that begged him to thrust hard and deep. 

With just the tip of his erection inside Elijah's body, Sean sobbed. "God." Sean's mind moaned. "He's so tight!" The sensation rocked him with pleasure that was so intense he nearly screamed. Again, his body shaking violently with longing, begged him to hurry, to take Elijah quickly and find release. But Sean would not.

He raised his head and looked into Elijah's face. He was biting his lip but not moaning or crying out. Sean bent to kiss him softly, and suddenly, as he looked down at Elijah's face, he felt control return. His passion was as rich and anguished as before, but tempered now by love. "Sweetheart." He murmured. "Are you alright? Am I hurting you?"

Elijah shook his head. No. For a moment they didn't move. "Take a deep breath, baby." Sean whispered to him. "And then relax." He smiled down at Elijah. "You know the drill." Elijah smiled back, then closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, relaxing as he exhaled. As always, breathing this way relaxed his whole body. And suddenly Elijah knew everything was going to be alright.

He clung to Sean lifting his hips up off the bed to take even more of Sean inside him. Sean's arms wrapped around Elijah's waist, lifting him up even higher. He moved deeper into Elijah, still moving slowly and carefully, until he was fully inside him. Then he stopped moving and looked down at Elijah again. His eyes were full of tears and he reached up blindly to caress Sean's face.

"Oh Seanie." He half whispered, half sobbed. "Oh Seanie, you're really mine now. You're part of me. One with me."

Sean smiled at him and leaned down to kiss him. "I know, sweet baby. I feel it too." He stroked Elijah's hair, feeling a deep inner joy. "Are you OK?" he asked gently. "Do you want to stop?"

"No!" Elijah cried. "No! Oh, god, Sean. No." He clung even tighter to Sean's back. "Move. Oh, Seanie, move. Please."

Sean slowly withdrew, and then thrust, slowly, into Elijah again. The physical sensations were so extreme that they both were moaning and whimpering. Again, Sean thrust slowly delved deeper into him with each rhythmic push. Elijah arched beneath him, feeling Sean's powerful fullness enter and fill him, giving him waves of nearly unendurable pleasure that took him beyond anything he had ever experienced before. Sean's hand moved around to stroke Elijah's erection, gently caressing the tip with his thumb, hearing Elijah cry out his name.

They moved against each other in a primal rhythm as old as love itself. Both of their bodies were shaking violently. "Sean!" Elijah cried. "Now, Seanie. Please." The sensual rhythm of Sean's thrusts quickened and his hand caressed Elijah's aching cock with that same, faster rhythm. They were both moaning now, whimpering, bodies writhing in torment, begging each other for release.

Elijah arched violently and cried Sean's name and Sean bit his lip on a scream as he poured himself into Elijah with pulsating waves of ecstasy. Elijah, feeling Sean spasm inside him, felt an even more torrential wave of pleasure course through him. "Sean." he cried. "My Seanie. My beautiful love." 

"Oh god." Sean sobbed. "Lijah. Lijah." He clung to Elijah as though he would never let him go, feeling Elijah's arms clinging to him with equal passion. The hunger to possess him that Sean had felt since the day they met was finally appeased. They both shuddered again and again as ripples of ecstasy flooded through them.

He heard Elijah crying his name, softly, and lowered his head to brush his lips in a gentle kiss. He moved as if to take his weight off Elijah but his arms held Sean fast. "No, Seanie." He whimpered. "Don't leave me yet." Elijah loved feeling Sean inside his body and wanted to keep him there for as long as he could.

After a long time, Sean eased his weight off Elijah and turned them both so they were facing each other in their huge bed. They silently stared into each other's eyes until neither of them could stand it anymore. As one, they moved forward into a deep and passionate kiss. Sean felt as though his soul were pouring into Elijah through this joining, and he clutched him, bringing him even closer into Sean's embrace.

"Jesus, Sean." Elijah breathed against his face. "I've never felt anything like that before."

Sean held him close, pressing every inch of their bodies together, lips to toes. "I know, sweetie." He said in a hoarse whisper. He leaned his head back to look into Elijah's eyes. "Did I hurt you at all?" he asked.

Elijah shook his head. "No." Then he grinned up at Sean. "It was a bit 'intense' when you first were inside me. But you stopped then and talked to me and I breathed and relaxed. And then it was fine. Never felt any pain at all."

"Thank god." Sean murmured. He pulled Elijah even closer to him, burying his face in Elijah's neck. "God, honey." He whispered, clinging to him. "I never want to let you go. Never." Sean felt wracked with emotion, both from the tension and hard work of the day, and from the tension and stress surrounding tonight's love making. He was fighting hard not to burst into tears and Elijah felt it.

"Sweetie?" he questioned. "What's wrong?"

Sean shook his head, keeping Elijah close to his body. "Nothing really." He murmured quietly. "Just been quite day."

He caressed Sean's body gently, soothingly, trying to ease whatever pain or distress had captured his lover's soul. "Seanie?" he questioned, "Baby? I feel your body shaking, like you want to cry." Elijah said. "I feel it."

Sean shook his head. No. But he still kept his face buried in Elijah's neck. "I’m OK, baby." After a moment Sean felt himself relaxing. The feeling of Elijah's body against his and the unfailing love that flowed from the heart of the young man who rested, so trustingly, in his arms had worked their magic on his soul once again.

He lifted his head and smiled down into Elijah's face so that he could see the change in Sean. "I just needed to hold you." He murmured, caressing Elijah's cheek with gentle fingers. "I told you once, and I say it again: Your love heals me. Always. No matter how upset I am, or how afraid I am, or how distraught I am. Your love heals me. You lift me up out of all that. You bring me to a peaceful place."

Elijah's eyes were bright and shiny with tears and Sean leaned down to kiss one away that had strayed to his cheek. "That's what your love is for me, Lijah." He whispered. "It's a peaceful place. I've never had that before." He shook his head wonderingly. "I could have walked away from all the rest, but I could never leave that. It's the only peace I've ever had in my life." He leaned down and kissed Elijah's lips gently. "And you gave it to me like a gift."

"Sean." Elijah breathed. "If I truly do this for you, then the gift is mine." Elijah said, taking Sean's face in his hands. "I swear to you. I will love you forever."

"And I swear I will love you forever." Sean murmured back to him.

They both sighed and turned toward each other, snuggling against each other's bodies, murmuring their love into each other's ears until sleep finally took them.


End file.
